Fresh Impressions - Art Opening

Torch Song - left, Reckless Abandon - right 

Sunday, December 4th was the opening for my exhibit Fresh Impressions at the Good News Cafe in Woodbury, Connecticut.

Fresh Impressions 2011

In my latest collection of paintings, Fresh Impressions, I'm exploring an abstract direction inspired by Impressionist techniques, brush strokes, and color chemistry. Rather than conveying an impression of a landscape or still life, they are internal landscapes of emotion and states of being. My intention is to create works of art that resonate various energies and lead the eye into deeper dimensions. I hope viewers will respond to each piece uniquely, engaging in a quiet, personal conversation through visual meditation. 

 Works 1 and 2

 1. Bubbling Over - Acrylic on 24" x 24" canvas, 2011

 2. Nature's Symphony - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

Works, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

3. After Noon - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

4. Torch Song - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

5. Reckless Abandon - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

6. Levity - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

Works 4, 5, 6, 7

7. Lost in Love - Acrylic on 20" x 30" canvas, 2011

 Works 8, 9, 10

8. Heart Beats - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

9. Morning Meditation - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

10. Mystic Journey - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

Work 11

11. Pure Intentions - Acrylic on 12" x 24" canvas, 2011

Works 12, 13, 14

12. "Softly She Whispered..." - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

13. Sweet Surrender - Acrylic on 18" x 24" canvas, 2011

14. Afterglow - Acrylic on 18" x 24" canvas, 2011

Works 15, 16, 17, 18

15. Alive Again - Acrylic on 18" x 24" canvas, 2011

16. Untitled - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

17. Child's Play - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

18. Wildfire - Acrylic on 16" x 20" canvas, 2011

We arrived early to hang two extra paintings in a nook I wasn't aware of in the bar when we had originally come to hang the show. The nook was the perfect excuse to hang one of my paintings I really wanted to show, but was on the fence about. 

Autonomous Connections

This painting, Autonomous Connections, is a piece I can credit for leading me on the path towards this current series. The only question was what ELSE to hang in that space...

 Jazz (diptych)

I chose Jazz because if Autonomous Connections was one of the original steps in the direction that would eventually lead me to this current series, then Jazz was the step before that. 

Funny enough, it was this piece Jazz that brought about a most interesting conversation with one of the visitors of the opening. A very engaging and thoughtful woman whom I shared lengthy conversations with about art, travel, and music. She saw instruments in this piece and felt music before she knew what the title was. I liked that a lot.

The following pictures are of Marlow Shami's exhibit, showing in the other dining room. Her digital collages are mesmerizing and you can learn more about Marlow and her work at www.marlowshami.com

The bar in between both rooms was a great way to tie everyone together as people mingled throughout the restaurant. Having our own rooms, Marlow and I were able to establish our own shows as distinct presentations. Meanwhile, it felt like our shows were playing "telephone" with each other with the bar as the connecting line. It was so great seeing some friends I haven't seen in a while. I only wish I had taken more pictures! 

 Marlow, Chuck (curator), and I

Exhibit runs through January 31, 2012 at the Good News Cafe, Woodbury, CT.

Fresh Impressions Preview: After Noon

After Noon - Acrylic on 24" x 36" canvas, 2011

I think this is my favorite of the new series. It is a now-not-so-secret nod to Lee Krasner's painting Noon that has firmly planted itself in my mental slideshow of paintings that have rocked my world for life. I think that Noon was the original subconscious inspiration to create this series, now that I have had the opportunity to take a step back and take it all in. Monet's water lilies were also part of that mental slideshow - the abstract moments of color and mark are spectacular when you see the giant canvases in person (which I was fortunate to do years ago at the MoMA). Of course, at the end of the day, these paintings are mine. Sometime late last year I got into circles. The circles began to deconstruct. The marks became looser. Everything became more freeing. The process is what has driven this new series but that's me talking as the artist. In time, I think I will see these paintings more clearly from the perspective of the observer and I will then understand them more completely.

This painting is one of twenty that will be exhibited at the Good News Cafe through January 31. See previous post for more information.

Fresh Impressions - Paintings by Jessica Torrant at the Good News Cafe

Alive Again, Acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

FRESH IMPRESSIONS by Jessica Torrant

In her latest collection of paintings, Fresh Impressions, Jessica Torrant explores an abstract direction inspired by Impressionist techniques, brush strokes, and color chemistry. Rather than conveying an impression of a landscape or still life, Jessica is exploring a more internal landscape of emotion and states of being. Her intention is to create works of art that resonate various energies and lead the eye into deeper dimensions. Jessica hopes viewers will respond to each piece uniquely, engaging in a quiet, personal conversation through visual meditation. 

Please join me at the Good News Cafe for the opening reception of my latest exhibit, Sunday, December 4th from 3-5 pm. There will be refreshments and I will be there, as well as the other exhibiting artist Marlow Shami, to meet and chat with visitors. If you can't make it Sunday, the exhibit will be hanging through January 31, 2012 so be sure to treat yourself to an exquisite meal by one of Connecticut's most esteemed chefs, surrounded by original art! 

"Carole Peck's Good News Cafe is a 170-seat full-service restaurant, winning top awards year after year from Zagat's Guide, Connecticut Magazine and The New York Times, to name a few. Zagat called Carole Peck's Good News Cafe one of the, "Top Restaurants in the U.S." 

Sneak Peek - Hanging the Show

Today my husband and I took my new collection of paintings to the Good News Cafe in Woodbury, CT to hang my show, Fresh Impressions. Here is a sneak peak of the work hanging in the main dining room.

Preparing for this exhibit was a thrill - sure, there were moments of doubt or anxiety, but that's par for the course for me. Knowing I had the entire main dining room to myself gave me an opportunity to have a real, cohesive, solo exhibit and I think, now that I've seen them all hanging together, that I accomplished my goal.

Another artist, Marlow Shami, is exhibiting her amazing digital artwork in the other dining room (the bar/lounge divides the space between us). I think our work really compliments one another and I see a lot of common themes visually, even though our work is very different both in medium and design. Still, we share the commonality of abstractly weaving a pattern, the parts making up the whole, and I hope visitors will find an interesting dialogue between the two different bodies of work.

There will be an opening this Sunday and now that I've got the work hanging and I've met Marlo, who is lovely, I feel so relieved and very excited for the opening! Here are some pictures of us setting up and the finished walls. I hope to have lots more pictures to share after the opening as well.

EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2011.
See my other post about the show for more details.

 

 

New Paintings

It has been beautiful here and I've had the pleasure of doing a lot of painting the last couple of weeks in the screened in area of my studio. Whenever it gets to be August I get this anxious energy of "oh no! Summer is running out!" as if there's anything you can really do about the passage of time. It's been a great summer, and there will be plenty more fun times to come, I just wish it would streeeetttcchhh...

These are a couple of little texture paintings I'm working on. There are a handful more in the studio ready to go.

Pieces 1 - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Pieces 2 - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Midsummer Glow - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

Come to Life - Acrylic on 6" x 6" box canvas

I also have been working on two 22" x 28" canvases, and one is a work in progress that I don't have a picture of yet, and I finally finished this one yesterday.

Interwoven - Acrylic on 22" x 28" canvas

I don't know which way I like this hanging - they both work for me. What do you think?